Then the whites came, and they gave us the boundary. The boundary of Mozambique was at Bora. Arriving in Bindura, as you passed through and begin descending toward the Zambezi, you were in Mozambique.
Now, the Portuguese were foolish. They secured the boundary with wooden pegs. The British secured it with iron pegs. They marked it by pouring concrete and inserting iron. So the Portuguese didn’t do that. They simply cut a piece of wood and fastened it in place, saying, “This is our boundary.”
So the British were clever, and they managed to shift the boundary. And they pushed it back as far as Mutoko and Mutare. Wherever they traveled, they would leave their boundary behind. They wanted to take everything, from Chiredzi passing through Tete, until they arrived in Beira. They wanted to reach Beira because they wanted to use Beira as their harbor.
Then they quickly retreated, because the Portuguese came regularly to buy ivory and alluvial gold. So that is what they did, they established their boundary reaching all the way to Mutare.
Then the Portuguese came and said, “Our boundary is here.” They replied, “Your boundary is not here.” They came to point it out to them, saying, “Where is your boundary?”
Then the Portuguese said, “Fine. You say this is our boundary. Let it stop right here. Without seeing your pegs in Beira! We don’t want to see that.”
So the British took those pegs, and that was that. Mozambique extends so far – from Guruve to Zambia and Malawi. It borders Tanzania and South Africa. It is the largest country in this region.